Part-timers report cut in hours

Friday

Aug 8, 2014 at 12:01 AM

By Kendall HatchDaily News Staff

ASHLAND Ė Some local Market Basket workers said Thursday morning that they were encouraged to file for unemployment benefits as their hours were slashed in the midst of the ongoing feud embroiling the company.Workers at the Ashland Market Basket said they were given a memo Thursday morning from Store Director Joseph Angelari informing them that no part-time employees would be scheduled until business picks up.Angelari said that the store has about 350 part-time employees who wonít have any hours when next weekís schedule comes out. He said that he was making the move after an email from company co-CEO Felicia Thornton told managers to "schedule staff levels necessary to serve your current customer base and maintain store conditions."Since business has dropped about 90 percent, Angelari said the store cannot support part-time employees."We have no hours to give part-time employees," he said. Angelari said it was difficult to deliver the news to the part-timers."Itís terrible," he said. "Iíve been with the company for 26 years. I would say today is the worst day of my 26-year career."Jeff Lareau, assistant store manager at the Hudson Market Basket, also confirmed Thursday that part-time employees there were not going to be scheduled. He said there are about 200 part-time employees at the store.The companyís CEOs, Thornton and Jim Gooch, denied on Thursday that any employees were actually being laid off. Thornton said in a statement that directors were to tell employees that they were not being laid off, the Associated Press reported."All Store Directors as part of their normal responsibilities are able to and often do reduce hours but they need to make clear when doing so that the individuals are still employees of DSM (Demoulas Super Markets)," Thornton wrote.The cut in hours comes as Market Basket employees have been rallying for weeks for the reinstatement of former CEO Arthur T. Demoulas, who was ousted by the companyís Board of Directors in June.In Ashland, some employees said they were taking the time to call the Attorney Generalís office, which opened a special hotline for Market Basket workers.Sheryl Flynn, a part-time employee in the deli department, said she had placed a call to the Attorney Generalís office after finding out her hours were going to be cut. Flynn said her older daughter, a fellow part-time employee at the Ashland store, was also facing a cut in hours.Cashier Melanie Kinsley, an Ashland resident, said employees were being urged to file for unemployment. She said that she has another part-time job, but said some fellow employees might be losing their only source of income."Itís very frightening," said Kinsley. "Itís very troublesome for a lot of folks."Cashier Jan Bridges said many of the employees didnít know what to think, but were scared at the prospect of losing work."Itís overwhelming because we donít know whatís going on," she said. "This place is like home. We are all a family."(Associated Press material was used in this report. Kendall Hatch can be reached at 508-490-7453 or khatch@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @Kendall_HatchMW)